Ohio — An Ohio man who fatally shot his 15-year-old daughter and then attempted to blame it on his nonverbal stepson with autism has pleaded guilty.
According to court records, 39-year-old Kenneth Paul Farler III pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, endangering children, and a number of other firearm-related charges stemming from previous felony convictions. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on May 14.
On the afternoon of April 14, 2024, Dayton police responded to a shooting inside an apartment building on the 400 block of Bowen Street. When first responders arrived, they found 15-year-old Kendra Farler with a shotgun wound to the chest.
In a 911 call obtained by Dayton CBS affiliate WHIO, Farler allegedly told the dispatcher that his stepson had accidentally fired the gun.
“My stepson, he’s autistic, he had no, it was an accident ma’am,” he allegedly stated during the call. “He’s autistic,” he allegedly added, claiming the boy had no “idea what he was doing.”
Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns told the Dayton Daily News that after further investigation and interviews, Farler’s claims on the initial 911 call were proven false.
“The young lady was shot and killed by her father inside the Bowen Street address,” Johns told the publication. “To say it was a tragedy is an understatement.”
According to Johns, investigators believe the shooting was intentional.
“I would say it’s not an accident,” he explained. “Our victim asked him not to point the shotgun at her before she died. “That is not an accident.”
In another 911 call, a bystander told a dispatcher that he was in his car when he heard a gunshot and said, “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”
“She’s a kid,” the caller explained. “I just heard a gunshot and heard them scream.”
Nancy Ledbetter, a neighbor, told WHIO that she was shocked when she heard the gunfire.
“I was curious about what was going on, so I started walking over there, and right across the street at the corner, there was a lady, and I asked her, ‘Do you happen to know what’s going on?’ “She said my granddaughter was shot,” Ledbetter told the station.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office charged Farler about a week after the fatal incident. Prosecutor Mat Heck pointed out that Farler had been convicted of cocaine trafficking less than a month before the shooting.
During the indictment, Heck stated that he had been arrested 40 times in the previous 20 years and had been sentenced to prison. “This defendant should never be allowed near a firearm and deserves to be imprisoned.” A completely innocent 15-year-old girl has died at the hands of her father.
Kendra’s family described her as “our shining little star” in her obituary.
“Kendra was the heart and soul of our family, embodying a spirit full of joy, curiosity, and creativity,” according to the funeral announcement. “As a student, she was more than just a learner; she was a tiny professor, eager to share her newfound knowledge and discoveries. Her laughter was contagious, her energy limitless, and her kindness a source of warmth for everyone around her.”
